A Twist In Fate
by Senshi-Minagi
Summary: Tenchi and all of his friends are killed...and only Ryoko survives?!! A sudden change in history forces Ryoko to learn the truth about her past. She befriends a group of super warriors known as the Saiyans, and begins her new life in West City.
1. An Old Enemy Emerges

Disclaimer: This is a Tenchi Muyo - Dragon Ball Z anime crossover. I do not claim to own any of the characters (except Ryan Briefs, Will Red, and any other original characters soon to come...!) These chapters are a spin-off of my main fiction, and they take place ofter the Majin Buu saga. If you'd like to read the main fic, visit my site Saiyan Anime Planet! I might just put the whole thing on this site eventually though. Thanks for reading - please write a review!  
  
Chapter 1 - "An Old Enemy Emerges"  
  
"Why does Bulma always give me the stupid jobs?!" Ryoko had been an employee at Capsule Corp. for almost 9 years. She was now physically 33 years old. Bulma had originally hired Ryoko so she would stay with them. Even though Ryoko had fallen in love with Bulma's son Trunks, she remained loyal to her job. Normally, deliveries of Capsules to the stores that sold them were handled separately by another company. The business was down at the time, so Ryoko had to make all the deliveries herself. "Hmph....." Ryoko grumbled as she walked down the busy city sidewalks, carrying a large box full of new Hoi Poi Capsules. "I'm so sick of working. I haven't been on a vacation since our honeymoon, if you even consider that a vacation...."  
  
Ryoko and Trunks' son, Ryan, was now 8 years old. The two got engaged after he was born, when Trunks proposed to Ryoko in the hospital. Since they just had a baby, the wedding was put off. And when Ryan was 4, Majin Buu came and that became the priority at the time. It wasn't until a year later that they finally got married. "It doesn't really matter anyway," Ryoko had thought. "I already feel like Trunks is my husband - I've taken his last name, and now we have a son, plus I have Minagi.... The only reason is all that legal mumbo-jumbo." Although Minagi was not Trunks' daughter, they got along well, and she looked to him almost as a father figure (even though he's younger than her). She's also Ryan's half sister, but he never sees her as anything less than his older sister. Ryan looks up to her, and since the time of peace, Minagi's become obsessed with video games. She takes on Ryan as her young apprentice to teach him her "master skills". Even after the wedding, nothing changed. Ryoko still worked, and spent time with Trunks and their kids, who sat around and did nothing most of the time.  
  
"Our honeymoon was already 2 years ago. The trip hadn't really gone exactly to plan, though...," Ryoko was thinking. She wasn't paying attention to what was going on around her - she just walked through an intersection, pissing off all the drivers who nearly hit her. "I know the perfect place for you two to go!" Bulma insisted. "My father owns a vacation home in the far East. It's incredibly beautiful - there's a couple hundred acres of land, and a lake, all surrounded and enclosed by mountains. It's really romantic..." "Uh, sure? Why not?" Trunks said. "Yeah, ok then. Flying there would be too easy and boring. Why don't we make it interesting and go on a road trip?" Ryoko suggested. "We'll pack our stuff, and take my old pickup truck." "Fine, if that's what you want to do. I just want you guys to get out. You're married, and haven't even been on a single date."  
  
So, Ryoko and Trunks set out on the open road. The trip will take a few days by car, so the two will switch off with driving and sleeping. Their first stop of course, was a diner. It offered a tough deal - eat a whole 25- lb. steak, and it's on the house! Plus, you'll be on the "Wall of Fame". "I'll take that," Ryoko said plainly to the waiter. "Y-you sure about that, little lady?" "Yep! It sounds like a good deal to me. Bring it on! I'm hungry." "O..oh kay! Looks like we got ourselves a challenger!" "I'll just have a cheeseburger," Trunks sighed.  
  
"Well! Are you proud of yourself?" Trunks exclaimed. Ryoko was sitting in the passenger's seat, grinning from ear to ear. She was wearing a t-shirt that said, "I beat the meat! - Hal's Diner". She looked and smiled at him happily. Trunks sighed, and laughed to himself. He enjoyed spending time with her more than anything in the world.  
  
Trunks snored as Ryoko navigated through the bad thunderstorm. They had just passed East City, and were heading through the outskirts of town. It was pouring rain, and almost impossible to see. The fat droplets were loud as they hit against the truck. Trunks continued to sleep through it. "He's lucky I'm such a damn good driver. Nobody'd be stupid enough to drive around in conditions like this. What's that?" Something suddenly caught Ryoko's eye, and she stopped to pull off to the side of the road. "Wha.... uh...huh?" The sudden jerk woke Trunks up. A car was overturned on the side of the road. "It's... an ambulance. " Ryoko muttered. She quickly unlocked and opened the door. "Hey! Ryoko! What're you...?" "I'm going to check it to see if anyone's hurt. You stay in here, Trunks. There's no need for the both of us to get wet." "But...uh..." She looked back and gave him a look of, you better not or else. He pulled back. "Ok, Ryoko." She stepped out, and closed the door behind her. In a second, she was completely soaked. She ran over to the ambulance, and banged on the back doors. A bang answered back. She gripped on to the slippery doors, and pulled them open.  
  
A young woman who looked like a nurse was crouched over what seemed to be the patient. It was a 13 year old girl; her head and arms were bandaged. "What happened?!" Ryoko said, shocking the nurse as she forced the doors open. She seemed to be in shock; her head had scrapes and bruises. "We...we flipped over. The car lost power just a little while ago... I don't know if the driver's ok. Please... help us." Water dripped from Ryoko's soaked clothes as she checked both the nurse and the girl. "The nurse was fine, just a little cut up and shocked. The girl was alive... not doing too good," these thoughts ran through her head. "I'll check the driver." She ran out again, and climbed on top of the ambulance to open the car door. The driver was still in his seat, head bashed from the impact. Knocked out cold, but still alive. She quickly ran to the back again. "Ok! I'm going to get you all out of here!" She ran over to Trunks, and he rolled down the window. "What's going on?" "Hurry! Drive the truck over to the ambulance!" "Alright!"  
  
Their truck pulled up right to the ambulance's back doors. "Sorry, but for now, I'm going to have to put the three of you in there. I don't want you all to get soaking wet." Trunks helped Ryoko carry the three injured passengers into their truck. As soon as they were in, Ryoko closed all the doors, and began trying to flip the ambulance back over. "Ungh...." The rain was still pouring intensely as Ryoko struggled to grip her fingers on the side of the car. It was completely dark, except when an occasional lightning bolt crackled across the sky, lighting up the area for a moment. Ryoko's footing also gave her a problem - the ground had completely absorbed the water and was raising a few inches off the ground, turning the roadside into mush. It was slippery and dark, but she still managed to get the car back on all 4 wheels. "huh...huh..ok. There we go... now, I have to get 'er started." She opened the driver's door, and sat inside. The key was still in the ignition. She turned it, but it didn't start. Didn't even sound like it was trying. "Come on... come on... work..please.." The lights didn't even come on. "DAMMIT!! The fricken battery's dead!" She slammed her fist down on the seat, puncturing it. Water dripped from the already soaked steering wheel.  
  
"Alright...calm down," she told herself. "This isn't that big of a deal. I just have to jump-start it." She grabbed the metal key, and turned it in the start position, then began to flood the acceleration. "Here goes..." Electricity began flowing through her body, until it flowed to her fingertips and was released. "aaahhh.... unh! agh! uh! huh...huh... nnnghh...ah..aaahhh!!! Sh... " - [oh no! I forgot! I'm drenched in water!!] - Ryoko screamed as she began to get shocked by her own electrical charge. "No!! I can... I.. have to.. " She struggled to keep the electrical flow going into the battery instead of herself. Finally, the car started and she let go of the key; smoke rose from her body as she began gasping for air. "Well, then..... that's that." She put the ambulance in drive, and pulled up to the truck. "You alright, Ryoko?!" "Yeah... no worries. Just help me get these guys back in here."  
  
"Thank you so much, miss! You saved all of us!" The nurse got back to work on the now 2 patients, while she talked to the driving Ryoko. Trunks was following close behind in their truck as they drove to the hospital. "So, tell me. What happened exactly?" "We got a call that a girl was hit by a car and picked her up to take her to the hospital. All I can remember is the ambulance skidding off the side of the road until we turned over." Ryoko: ".............." "I didn't think anyone would come to help us. I couldn't use the radio to call for help because the battery died. We're lucky you saw us and helped out. What were you two doing driving in this dangerous condition?... I mean, I'm so glad that you were, but you could have gotten hurt too." "Well, we're on a road trip. I'm a great driver, so I can handle conditions like these. I didn't want to have to stop and pull over - we're on our honeymoon, sort of..." "Really?! Oh, congratulations! When did you get married?" "Almost two years ago." "What? Really?! That's kind of odd..." "Yeah, well we.." Ryoko got interrupted by a radio call. "Chkk... Hello? Is this 1-5-2?" "No, this is Ryoko." "Uhh... who are you? Please state your position." "The driver got knocked out and I'm driving everyone to the hospital... we're almost there now, so get ready for us." "I copy that. Thank you. Over. - chkk"  
  
They reached the hospital, doctors and nurses were standing by as they pulled up and helped get everyone out. Ryoko walked up to Trunks, he held her as they both watched the ambulance driver and girl get wheeled down the hall and into the emergency rooms. The remaining people approached the two. Ryoko was still dripping wet. "Thank you very much for your assistance. You are Ryoko, am I correct?" "Yes sir!" Ryoko answered the doctor.  
  
Ryoko lay in a room, a nurse checking her temperature as Trunks sat in a chair in the corner and watched. "Well, miss Ryoko. I think you were out in the cold rain for too long." She pulled the thermometer out of her mouth. Ryoko shook a bit as she layed on the table; her clothes were changed and dry, but she was still chilled to the bone. "Is she going to be ok?" Trunks asked the nurse. "She caught pneumonia... strong girl though. She should be just fine in a few days." The doctors offered her a stay for the night - it was the least they could do for their new hero. But Ryoko wasn't worried about herself. She wanted to stay and find out if the two from the ambulance were going to be ok. She and Trunks were soon visited by the girl, Nina's, parents. They were incredibly grateful for their daughter's rescue, and felt bad about Ryoko getting sick. "Hey. It's ok. Don't worry about it!"  
  
"The girl woke up the next morning. She looked so happy.." Ryoko was remembering the last bit of their "vacation". "It sure was cut short... but I don't regret helping those people in the least." A man almost ran into Ryoko, who was staring blankly while walking on the busy sidewalk, carrying her package. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" "Oh....sorry. There I go day dreaming again...," Ryoko thought to herself. "I almost passed the shop!" She pushed the door open, bells clanging that were hanging on the door as she closed it behind her. "Hey! Here's your order for the month. Sorry for the delay...I had to deliver it to ya myself." "Oh, that's alright!" a man behind the counter exclaimed. "Thank you for going through the trouble, Mrs. Briefs." "Yeah, yeah. 100 cases of the new Hoi Poi Capsules, right?" She handed him the box. "Well, I guess I'm on my way. Got a lotta work ta do, ya know..." She walked out the door, then stuck her hands in her pockets and sighed.  
  
"I hate being Bulma's delivery boy. She thinks she can make me do whatever she..." She suddenly stopped. Someone, or something, had been following her. "Where is...?" Suddenly, she turned as a strange looking creature ran out of the capsule shop, carrying the box she just delivered. "Hey You!!" The creature was fast, but Ryoko quickly pursued it. It ran into an alley. "Now I've got you!" She turned the corner and it was gone. "Dammit!! What in hell...? Ah ha!" She jumped to the roof, with that creature not too far ahead, jumping the rooftops. She quickly ran after it and did the same. It got to the last building and jumped off, taking flight. It suddenly screeched to mid-air halt as Ryoko appeared right in front. "Now give me the box..." "My master requests these capsules." "What?!! Give them to me, asshole!" She grabbed the box, and yanked it right out of the creature's arms, taking them with it. "What the...? Oops! Heh... sorry 'bout that..." The creature just stared at her with a cold, hard expression, then to Ryoko's shock, regenerated its arms back. "!! No... It can't..." It looked down at its arms, then up at Ryoko who was quickly pulling off the arms that were attached to the box. She looked up as a hand shot out at her from the creature, and it quickly began to wrap around and squeeze her neck, its sharp nails cutting at her throat. "Ahhh....ugh.... gasp." She began to cough as she gasped for air. The creature's face had no change in expression. She suddenly let go of the box of Capsules she was grabbing onto with her other hand and instantly stuck it right in front of the creature's face. "HAAA!!!" Ryoko shot a powerful ki blast directly at its head, blowing it completely off. Its body seemed to be hanging from its arm that was still grasping her neck, until its grip finally loosened and slid off, sending what was left of the creature plummeting toward the ground. Ryoko quickly caught her breath, then disappeared. She reappeared on the ground, and caught the box before it hit, and sighed in relief as she rubbed her neck. The creature's body then landed right next to where she was standing. She knelt down beside it, and began to examine it. "Now... what the hell is this thing?!" It was covered in some sort of tough, scale- like skin. A dark fluid was oozing out of the decapitated neck. "That smells... like some kind of oil. Weird." She reached into the neck for an expected vertebrae, but to her shock, found something else. "The frame is made of steel!...wait...no way. It's... an android."  
  
Next: Chapter 2 - "Old Habits Die Hard... But Can Sometimes Come In Handy" 


	2. Old Habits Die Hard

Chapter 2 - "Old habits die hard... but can sometimes come in handy."  
  
"Yep! This is definitely an android!" Bulma said as she began checking over what was left of the creature's body. Ryoko had returned the box of capsules to a completely shocked, but otherwise unhurt shop owner. She then grabbed the android, and took it back with her to Capsule Corp. Trunks, Ryoko, and Vegeta now stood around Bulma, watching her pick and prod at it. "So, what do you think?" Ryoko asked her. "Well, it sure is strange to be seeing one of these again..." The last android the gang had run into was Cell, and that was almost 11 years ago. Ryoko had just arrived on Earth, and was the first to reach Super Saiyan 2, when she destroyed Cell. "Dr. Whats-his-name built the androids, didn't he? Didn't you guys kill him?" "That's Dr. Gero," Bulma corrected her. "And yeah, they did. Well, actually, 17 and 18 killed him." "How nice of them," Ryoko snickered. "Yeah, well, then how is there another one?" Vegeta asked her. "Well, I could have easily downloaded it's memory files and used those to track where it came from, but somebody blew its head completely off..." "Hey!! How woulda I have known...?" "...sigh.. Well, I can still take this thing apart. Hopefully the manufacturer left a logo or code or something I can use to trace."  
  
She began taking it apart, closely examining every piece. It looked similar to Cell, having the reptile-like skin Cell possessed in his first form. It didn't have a tail, but it had long claws and a lot of sharp teeth. Besides the tough scales, most of its body had a thick metal-like coating for extra protection. The arm that the android used to choke Ryoko earlier was now barely connected, and fell to the floor. Ryoko bent over to pick it up, and noticed a piece of its coating coming off. She pulled the piece off, and underneath, saw red bow-shaped marking. "What's R R?" she asked, while suddenly standing straight up again. "WHAT?!! Let me see that!! Here, give it to me!" Bulma shouted. Ryoko handed it over to her. "It... can't be...," Trunks began to mutter. He looked as if he had seen a ghost; a bead of sweat rolled down his cheek. "R R stands for... Red Ribbon..." Bulma answered. "As in, the old Red Ribbon Army..." "Hey! But wait! Weren't they the ones that that Dr. ... uh..Gero, worked for?" "Yes. But, Goku destroyed the entire army a long time ago. He didn't finish Gero, but his androids, 17 and 18 betrayed and killed him. They then woke up 16, and Cell had come from the future...17 and 16 were destroyed, so was Cell...and 18's human now. That's the last of them. How can there be another android? 11 years later; was it just hiding out until now..?" "I don't think so," Ryoko replied. "The thief said he was taking the capsules to his 'master'. Plus, he looks awfully new to me. Technology has advanced a lot in these past 11 years, especially since I've been around...(heh). That means there's some kind of motive behind this, and whatever it is, there's someone behind it who's obviously still alive." They all looked cautiously down at the android. Oil dripped from its now open parts. Suddenly, Ryan and Chibi Trunks ran in, Minagi was behind, chasing the two. The two boys stopped, but she continued to growl, until she noticed she was the only one making a sound, and that everyone was now staring at her. "What?!!"  
  
"Oh! What is that?" The boys stood by the android, and stared, completely fascinated. "Where's its head?" Ryan asked. "Your mom blew it off," Bulma said. "It's.. it's.. what is it?" Trunks wondered. "It's an android.." Ryoko stated plainly. "Sorry to ruin your fun, you three, but we're really busy right now. Run along for now. Go on." "Hey!! But!....Dad?" Trunks looked up at his father Vegeta. "......Listen to Ryoko, son." The three began to mope and sulk as they slowly began to trudge out of the room. "I hate to be so hard on them..." Ryoko sighed. "But they have to learn that's it's not all fun and games." "Look who's talking...miss hypocrite..." Bulma laughed. "Alright. Well, all I can do is try and get as much information on the Red Ribbon as possible, and we'll go from there."  
  
Ryoko knelt down next to her bike, and began to replace the totalled shocks. She had her motorcycle for a while now; it had become her favorite mode of transportation. Her last escapade with it didn't go so well, for the bike that is. She sure had a habit of being hard on her 'toys'. Its tire blew out while she was riding it, and the bike began to skid, until it turned over on its side. Sparks shot out as the metal frame slid against the asphalt with Ryoko crouching on top of it, until it finally came to a stop. She was always looking for ways to improve upon it. "Hand me that wrench...," she was saying to Trunks, who was standing and watching her. "You know, you should be a little easier on your stuff. You seem to spend more time fixing that bike than actually riding it. It's the same for your ATV too..." He scolded her as he handed a wrench over to her. She seemed to be angered a bit by that remark, and quickly snatched it from him. "So what? At least I...." "Come over here, you two!" Bulma interrupted her. "Well, I searched through every data base I have access to. Didn't get as much info as I had hoped though. But we can still use it. His name is Will Red, the new commander that is. He's the great nephew of the original Commander Red. Somehow, he was able to secretly resurrect the company. Doesn't say where he lives, or where the Headquarters can be found. But I did enter a search on his name. Didn't get too much notable information... but I think we may be able to get some information out of him personally." "How?" Vegeta asked. "Well, his records show that he's a loyal customer to the 'exotic dance club' in the heart of this city." "Hmph... probably another dirty old man... should'a figured..." Ryoko mumbled to herself. "He goes every Friday night, pretty set schedule." "What does this have to do with anything?" Trunks asked.  
  
"Well... It's the only place we can be sure of running into him...." "So, you plan on just waltzing in there and asking him where his secret headquarters is located?!" Ryoko asked smirking, her hands resting on her hips. "No, I'm not going to be the one walking in there... you are." "What?!!" "You should be able to fit in real well... just feel him up a bit. Drunk bastard'll probably spill his guts to you. I'm sure you already have a lot of experience with this sort of thing, I mean, considering the life you lead in the past..." "SHUT THE HELL UP!!!" Trunks was now restraining Ryoko, who was growling and baring her teeth. She looked like she could just kill Bulma. "Oops! Sorry about that! Touched a sore spot, did I? He he..." Bulma backed up a bit, still laughing, as Trunks struggled to hold on to the enraged Ryoko. After a few minutes, she finally calmed down, but continued to give Bulma a piercing stare, as Trunks released her. "Well, it doesn't matter anyway," he started to say. "There is no way I'm letting Ryoko into a place like that. Especially alone." "Then go with her." "I'm not going." Ryoko said. "Listen to me! I'm sorry I made fun of you before! But I'm serious about this! It's the only way we'll be able to find the base, or any other info for that matter. You all are always saving the world. How do you feel about the thought of those... things wreaking havoc all over the world?" Ryoko grit her teeth. She was right, after all. "But still... I really don't feel good about having Ryoko go in a place like that...," Trunks began to say, but was stopped by Ryoko, who suddenly stepped forward. "I'll do it," she said.  
  
Ryoko was now clad in the most revealing outfit you could ever see. She walked back into the lab where Trunks, Bulma, and Vegeta were waiting. The two men suddenly dropped their jaws. "Well, it looks like she definitely knows how to get a good reaction," Bulma stated. Ryoko laughed.  
  
Ryoko and Trunks sat at a table toward the back of the dimly lit club. She calmly sat and sipped at her drink, secretly reloading the blaster gun Bulma had given her, which was now wrapped up in her jacket. "If you get into some trouble, don't start transforming and everything. Remember, you'll be in a public place. If you need a weapon, at least use one that's common." Trunks was a little bit more uptight though. The thought of his wife sitting in this place wearing what she was wearing didn't seem to rest easy with him. He sat silently, surveying the nearby suitors, and glared at those who dared to look their way. He seemed to be doing a pretty good job of keeping most of them away. Ryoko set her drink down, and looked up at him. She had never really noticed before how protective of her he was. "Look. I appreciate your help, but I can handle these guys myself. I've been alone, and fine for the past 5,000 years. I can take pretty good care of myself." He looked concerned, but realized he might have hurt her pride a bit. "Is that so?"  
  
She took it as a challenge. "Hey, next time somebody comes over, just watch me. You can do it without threats, you know." It didn't take long. An obviously very drunk man began to stagger over to their table, despite the rather muscular Trunks sitting there, who - surprise - wanted to buy Ryoko a drink. "Thank you, but I'm waiting for somebody." "Well, why don't I keep you company until they get here? It may be a long wait." "Thank you, but I have company." She nodded at Trunks, who was ignoring them. "I'm really quite pleasant to have around." He stared at her. Spare me, Ryoko thought. So much for the easy way. "No. Go away." "You don't know what you are missing." "I'll try to get over it. Leave." "Just one drink.." He started to sit across from her. Ryoko pulled the blaster she had hidden away in her jacket, and brought it out over the table where the man could see it. She pointed it at the ceiling and thumbed the power setting from 'stun' to 'kill'. He saw that too. Very quickly he said, "Ah, well, perhaps another time. I, uh... just remembered that I have other plans. You'll excuse me." He hurried away. Amazing what a little toy like a blaster would do to improve the manners of a would-be suitor. Trunks began to crack up. "Shut up! Ok! So your method's a little better! I got rid of him, didn't I?" She tucked the blaster safely away back in her jacket. He stopped laughing, and looked toward the door. A man, and two rather large followers, most likely to be bodyguards, stepped in. "He's here."  
  
Next: Chapter 3 - "Hostages can be dangerous" 


	3. Hostages Can Be Dangerous

Chapter 3 - "Hostages Can Be Dangerous"  
  
The man was tall and had fiery red hair. His height made his even taller bodyguards look like giants. His hair was slicked back, and he wore a tux, under his long black trenchcoat. "His appearance was a refreshing sight, compared to the other slobs in this dump," Ryoko thought to herself. The three walked toward the front of the room, and took a seat in an open booth. "Time for you to go to work," Trunks said to her, sarcastically. Ryoko smiled. "Let's wait for him to get drunk first, shall we?"  
  
They sat in a dark corner, watching him from a distance. "He's had 4 shots, and a malt-liquor drink. That should be enough. Even I'd be a little shaky after that," Ryoko explained. She now stood up, and handed Trunks her jacket, which was folded, concealing the blaster gun inside it. "Watch my back..." She started to head over to his table. "Wow. He's not as old as I had assumed. I thought he was gonna be an old Roshi-type pervert, but he looks like he's only 35.... Bulma, you're gonna get yours for making me do this.... I swear.."  
  
She turned on her charm as she approached the table. "Is this seat taken?" she asked, sounding as seductive as humanly possible. "Now it will be." Of course, he took the bait and let her sit. "You're new here, I don't recall ever seeing you before." "Oh, how observant! Yes, this is my first time here! It was awfully kind of you to let me accompany you..." She was smiling widely, a good cover-up. She was actually trying to keep herself from gagging. The two continued to talk, Will offered her various drinks in the meantime. He was obviously trying to get her drunk. She didn't fall for it. "So, you're the commander of a large and powerful organization? That's so fascinating." "Please...." Trunks thought as he watched them from afar. He began chugging the rest of his beer.  
  
"It's not easy being the head of such an impressive organization!" He began to explain to her. "Well, I've never seen it around before." "That's because it's...hic! Well hidden deep in the southern forest..." "So that's where it is!" Ryoko thought to herself. "Good! Now that I have the information, I can get the heck out of here!" She began searching for an excuse to leave. "This is becoming too sickening to watch," Trunks muttered. He finished his drink off, got up, and headed for the restroom. "Here's your drink, ma'am," the bartender said to Ryoko, catching her off guard as he handed it to her. "Oh! Thanks...," she muttered, getting up to reach for it. Her backside now faced Will Red, which was mostly her uncovered skin. "Huh..?" He noticed a marking on her upper right shoulder blade.  
  
"Well, if you're going to be wearing that," Bulma added before they left, "Then at least cover your scars." "What? You mean, graft skin over them?" "Yeah, I can cover them temporarily for you..." Obviously, Bulma had missed one. The jagged scar was enough to change the commander's mind. She turned, unaware of his discovery, and said, "So...where were we? Oh! Will you excuse me for a moment? I just have to go to th..." -chck- He quickly pulled out a gun, and faced it directly at her head, the barrel lightly leaning against her forehead. "You're not going anywhere."  
  
Meanwhile, one of the bodyguards, who were actually androids, started to head over to the restroom. Trunks was the only person inside at the time. Apparently, they had been watching Ryoko and Trunks too, and had kept a suspicious eye on them since they first walked in. The android that headed over to the restroom now began bolting the door shut. The other android, which was now standing next to his master and Ryoko, had pulled out a gun, and faced it toward the ceiling, firing two shots. Plaster from the ceiling cracked, and started to fall to the ground. Everyone inside began to freak out and panic, screaming and heading toward the exits. It wasn't long before Will, who was still tightly holding his gun up to Ryoko's forehead, and his two android bodyguards were the only ones remaining in the empty room. Trunks had definitely heard that, and ran to the door. He began to push it open, but to his shock, it didn't budge. "What?!" The android that bolted the door shut was now leaning against it, keeping it closed. Trunks then pressed the side of his face against it. The yelling that he had heard before was now gone, and he couldn't hear anything.  
  
Ryoko stood calmly, now glaring at her attacker. "You almost had me fooled.." He began to lightly rest his index finger on the trigger. "I should have guessed... you're a lot different from any other girl that's approached me in this place." "Is that because I made it seem like I was actually interested in your work?" Ryoko snickered. This angered him. "You won't be able to keep that cocky attitude for too long." "Yeah, but it was my scar that gave it away, wasn't it?" she said, realizing why he'd been staring at her strangely before. His hand began clenching the gun even more tightly then before. "Go ahead." Ryoko said. "...shoot me." He glared at her. She didn't move. She didn't even look scared. He began to slowly pull the trigger back.....Bang!  
  
The gunshot echoed throughout the empty room. Ryoko was still standing, her head bent far back from the impact of the shot. "What?!" His voice was a combination of shock and rage. "How can she still be...?" "Ryoko!! Shoot! What the hell's going on?!" Trunks yelled. He was still trapped behind the door. "I'm coming!" He began to back up toward the back of the bathroom, and ran forward at full force, ramming the door down with his shoulder. His hit knocked the android down as well. The other android looked over when he heard the collision, but the commander still continued to stare at Ryoko, holding his gun. She slowly began to bring her head back up, blood dripping from her forehead. But something was different now, she changed. Her hair now stuck up, and shined with a golden-yellow color. She began to stare at him again with her now large, green eyes; his mouth was hanging open and his eyes were wide. Ryoko had transformed into her Super Saiyan form at the instant the shot was made, and was now turning her neck sharply to the left and right, grinning as it cracked.  
  
She reached her hand up to where the bullet was stuck in her forehead. "W- wwhat? N-no! No way!!" She stuck her hand in her head and pulled out the bullet. "You can't!!" Ryoko then held it out in front, looking down at the blood soaked bullet. She then squeezed it tightly in her fist, turning it to dust as skin began filling in the hole in her forehead. "Die, Bitch!!!" He frantically began shooting at her until he ran out of bullets. Ryoko's speed was so great, it looked as if she hadn't moved an inch, but in reality, she had easily caught every bullet that was shot at her. "Here ya go." She lightly tossed the caught bullets to him. He realized that he wasn't facing an ordinary girl. But for some reason, she now looked familiar in her Super Saiyan form. "Oh! That's it!!" He had secretly been monitoring her fight with Cell in the past, and hadn't recognized her until now. "You! You're the one who destroyed Cell! Now I understand! You must've been the one who stopped my android before...." "Yeah, that's me. He wasn't very strong...beating it was simply child's play. I didn't even have to power up." She stood arrogantly, folding her arms and grinning. They both stood, staring at each other. Trunks had walked closer, and was now standing behind Ryoko. She didn't know, but Will had noticed. All of a sudden, he quickly lifted his arm up, and it began to extend until it reached Trunks' neck, flinging him into the approaching wall. "Hey!!" Ryoko shouted, as she swung her fist. It was easily interrupted by the android bodyguard, who swung his to stop hers. "Ungh...," Ryoko grunted as she added more force to her fist. It didn't move. In an instant, she was hit by an unblockable blow in the gut by the android's leg. It sent her flying across the room, smashing tables and chairs, until finally, her body was crushed when she slammed into the wall.  
  
"Ahhh...aaahhhh!...ugh.... gasp.." Trunks coughed as his air supply became thin. Commander Red was walking toward him, until his robotic arm was back to its original length. He was choking Trunks, and pushing him into the wall, while punching him in the gut with his other arm. "Didn't think I'd be able to defend myself, did you boy?" Trunks couldn't answer that question, even if he had wanted to. He wasn't sure if he was ever going to breathe again as his air supply was now completely cut off. Ryoko's body was embedded in the wall. It started to crack around her, and she finally fell to the floor. She pushed herself to her knees, and saw the android now quickly flying up to her. She teleported, surprising it as it missed her, and reappeared closer to her husband. "Trunks!!" She drew her lightsaber sword, and flew up to him, catching Red off guard as she sliced off his hand, releasing Trunks, who had almost slipped into unconsciousness. He held on to her for support as he coughed, gasping for air. "You ok?" she asked, looking worried. "cough cough....yeah....cough...I'll...be fine..." She now looked back at Will, who was examining his broken arm. "...Well...I'll be... That's impressive!" He said to Ryoko. She still had her sword drawn, and it hummed in the silence. "I've never seen a weapon like that," he thought to himself. "Well, Saiyan! I've enjoyed our meeting!" He turned, and bowed to her. "Huh?! Now wait a minute..." He quickly issued an order to his androids, and started to leave. They flew in to attack the two, while the commander got away. "Dammit!" Ryoko yelled, as she saw him leave, but couldn't do anything. She was too busy blocking punches.  
  
It wasn't long before the two androids were easily destroyed by the Saiyans. "That about does it. I can't believe he got away," Trunks sighed. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter too much," explained Ryoko. "I mean, we didn't come here to beat him, we came to find out where the Red Ribbon HQ was." "Oh yeah! Did you?" "Yep! It wasn't the most self-respecting thing I've ever done, but it worked. At least that's over with." "Yeah. We better get home." It was really late. The two began walking back home to Capsule Corporation. Trunks quietly opened the door while he held Ryoko, who was now resting on his shoulder. They were surprised to run into Bulma, expecting everyone to be fast asleep. It was almost 4:00 in the morning. "I put your kids to sleep a while ago for ya," she whispered to them. "Oh, thanks," Ryoko mumbled, half asleep. "So, how did it go? I was worried...it took you a while." "Well, I've got some good news and bad news," Ryoko said partly laughing. "And..?" "Well, the good news is that I know where the headquarters is. And the bad news....is that he's going to be expecting us." "What? What do you mean? You messed up?" "Hey! No, I didn't. You did! You missed one of my scars and it gave me away." "Really? Oh well." "Don't act like this is no big deal! If I had messed up, I'd have never heard the end of it!" she yelled at Bulma. "Shhh! Ok! Yell at me all you want in the morning! You two only have a few hours left to rest anyway. We'll all get up early, and discuss our plan, ok? Now get some rest."  
  
Ryoko quietly walked in her children's rooms to check on them. Ryan was completely out of it, and Minagi stirred uneasily as she stood at their bedside, smiling proudly. Ryoko then headed to their own room and sat at the end of their bed. Trunks began to change his shirt. "You know those two androids we faced? They weren't very strong." "Hmm...yeah. They only seemed to be slightly stronger than Cell was," she mumbled back to him. "Do you think those were the strongest ones he had?" "....I dunno." She was now lying down. "I'll bet they weren't. It seemed like he knew what he was doing. Maybe he just set his androids loose on us so he could get away. We know that he's expecting us to come now. The strongest ones are probably at the base. What do you think?" He asked Ryoko again, but this time, he got no response. "Ryoko?" He looked back at her, then smiled. She had already fallen asleep.  
  
Next: Chapter 4 - "Always have a Plan B" 


	4. Always Have A Plan B

Chapter 4 - "Always Have A Plan B"  
  
"Wha..? Who..who's there?!" Ryoko stood in darkness, and had suddenly felt something move behind her. "Where am I?" She turned, and begun looking around. Suddenly, a flash of light filled the sky. It was so bright compared to the darkness her eyes had just gotten used to, and she held her hands up to shield it. There was a loud boom, followed by a crackling sound. It looked like fire was falling down from the sky. Ryoko finally realized where she was - she now stood on a cracked road in the middle of the city. The surrounding buildings were burning as explosions sounded in the distance. "What the hell is going on?!!" There was fear in her voice as she began shouting and searching frantically. "Where did everybody go?! Trunks! Ryan! Minagi! Bulma!...Vegeta?! Where is everybody?!!" She began running hopelessly down the street. Nobody was there. She couldn't sense a single human life. But she felt something else as a chill ran up her spine, and she stopped running, panting hard.  
  
Suddenly, she looked up, and everything had stopped, as if she were in a virtual reality game and the battery had just died. There was complete silence, until a cry caught her ears, and they poked up. "Mom! Please, help me!!" "What?! Ryan!! I'm coming!!!" She began running down the streets again, following the sound of his voice. She turned a sharp corner, and her feet screeched to a halt as she was utterly horrified. "RYAN!!!" Three rather large and completely disgusting looking androids were now grabbing him and beating him into the ground. "GET THE HELL OFF OF HIM!!!" Ryoko ran full speed at the androids, not taking her sight off of her beaten son. "HAAA...!!!!" She kicked one with all her strength, and sent it flying into a nearby building, demolishing it on impact. She turned to attack the other two, but something else suddenly caught her eye.  
  
"Oh no....." She had finally found her family. Vegeta was covered in blood, and he sat on the ground. His leg looked like it had snapped. Next to him stood Trunks, who wasn't in much better shape than his father, and was facing down an army of androids. Bulma lay motionless on the ground, Minagi near her leaning against a cracking wall. She was cradling her arm, or what was left of it; her eyes fixated on Trunks who seemed to be the only one who could stand. "This can't be happening....there's no way..." A combination of pure pain and hatred was coursing through Ryoko's body. The army that had stood motionless now began movement as it headed swiftly toward the fallen warriors like a plague. "N..n.nno......" Her body was shaking all over as she stood facing the ground. She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails were digging into her palms, making them bleed. "I...c-can't...I...this pain...this misery........I JUST WANT IT ALL TO GO AWAY!!!!!"  
  
Ryoko was now sitting straight up in her bed; her eyes wide open and sweat covered her face as she breathed hard. Her stomach ached in the area surrounding her scar, and she felt nauseous. "It.it was only a dream." she blurted out. "It seemed so real." She hated to admit that dream scared her. Ryoko did a good job of not showing fear, but it hit her deep where it hurts the most, and she knew it. Her eyes went back into focus as she looked over at the clock. "It's already 8:34...why didn't anyone wake me up?" It was bright; the sunlight was shining in the room through the open window. She began wiping the sweat from her face with her bed sheet as she calmed down. She had noticed that she was sitting in the middle of the bed, and that Trunks wasn't lying to her right like he normally was. "I'm starting to feel like Sasami..." Ryoko thought to herself. Sasami often had dreams that were premonitions of things to come. "That wasn't a premonition...was it?!" She quickly forced that thought out of her head, and laid back again. She then noticed something else. She was still wearing the same thing she had on last night, except that she was wearing a coat over it. "Oh yeah..." she thought to herself, remembering their confrontation with the Red Ribbon commander, and their walk back home. "That's right. I must've fallen asleep right after we got home..."  
  
"Mom!" "Huh?...oof!" Ryan had just ran into his parents' room, and jumped on their bed, landing on his mom. "So you're finally awake?" he asked her, grinning. "Hey kiddo! Good morning! Yeah...why didn't anyone get me up earlier?" "Dad said that we should let you sleep, but I thought that you'd want breakfast, so I came to get you." "Oh! I see..." She sat and stared at him. She suddenly went into shock as her pulse raced for a second - the images in her dream began flashing through her head, overlapping her vision. "Ugh...." She grit her teeth and closed her eyes as she hunched over. "Hey! Are you ok?!" Ryan asked her, leaning his hand on her shoulder looking worried. Her stomach began hurting again. "Stop it! That wasn't real!" She was yelling at herself in her head, trying to force the images out. "Yeah....it's nothing," Ryoko answered uneasily, opening her eyes again as she made herself smile. She then held her son close, hugging him. "N..not so tight!" "Oh!" she said releasing him. "...Sorry. Where's your father?" "In the kitchen eating with everybody else. C'mon! Let's go!" "Alright." Ryoko picked him up by the legs, and carried him upside down, making him laugh. "What're you wearing?" he asked her, still hanging upside down. "Oh!" she said, blushing. "I...have to get changed. You go on ahead....I'll be there in a sec.." she added, setting him down. "...Ok." he said weirdly, and ran out of the room. She folded her arms, watching him run towards the kitchen, and smiled.  
  
Ryoko yawned as she stretched and walked out of their room, now wearing a wife-beater tank and her ratty old jeans. Trunks and Vegeta were sitting at the table, along with Minagi and Chibi Trunks. They were all eating. Ryan was off to the side, reaching for a bowl and spoon, as Bulma stood leaning against the counter. She was discussing something with Trunks. "...I had originally thought a sneak-attack would be the best way to go about it, but now that's out of the question...oh! Good morning, Ryoko!" she said, just noticing that she'd entered the room. "...Hey..," she answered slowly, scratching her head. Everyone's attention was turned to her for a second, and then they went back to scarfing down their food. "Uhh... [yawn], are you going over our plans?" "Yeah. We're trying to figure out how we should go about doing this..." Ryoko walked over to her son, who was much too short to reach anything, and she grabbed a bowl and spoon for him. He happily took them, and sat over at the table next to his sister. "So..what did I miss so far?" "Well, nothing much actually. I wanted you to find out where the base is so we could infiltrate a sneak-attack and have you three go in and destroy everything, but now he knows that we'll be coming, so that won't work. What's worse, is that he knows what to expect, and he has plenty of time to get prepared for it." "So what?" Ryoko said, yawning again. She didn't sleep well. "I wouldn't be too worried about it... Those androids were nothing. We just got banged up because they caught us off guard. That won't happen again." She headed for the door, and opened it, walking outside, then slammed it behind her. "Wait Ryoko...! Oh god, she's just like you. Too damn stubborn for her own good." She was talking about Vegeta. He knew, but ignored her.  
  
Ryoko was a full-blooded Saiyan; the only others being Vegeta and Goku. And she was the only female Saiyan, besides her daughter Minagi who was half Saiyan, half Juraian. When she first came to live in Capsule Corp, Vegeta was very mad with the idea. He had especially hated her because she had destroyed Cell, a feat he couldn't accomplish at the time, saved his life, and had reached a level far greater than he had - all of this, and the fact that she was a woman. And on top of that, she was just as stubborn as he was, if not more. Long ago, he snapped, and the two almost killed each other. But Vegeta learned to live with the fact that she was in love with his son, and wasn't going anywhere. After Ryan was born, and Majin Buu came, he grew to actually respect and care for her.  
  
"Yeah, she never likes to take anything seriously," Trunks added. "She can stare death in the face, and still find something humorous to say. I think it's her way of covering her fear." The door suddenly opened again, and Ryoko stepped back inside, carrying the newspaper. "I don't care, Bulma. It's up to you. I'll do whatever you want me to." This really shocked her; Ryoko seemed to love arguing with her on everything. But she didn't act like her normal self this morning, and had already given up to Bulma. "Well...a-alright, then. Let me think about it." Minagi and Ryan had finished their meals, ran to the sink to rinse their dishes, and then ran out of the room to go play video games. "I'll beat you this time, Minagi!" "Now that's unlikely..!" she laughed. Vegeta and Chibi Trunks were still working on thirds, and Mirai Trunks had just finished his breakfast as well. "Hey Ryoko! Aren't you gonna have something to eat?" "I'm not very hungry."  
  
"Well, I'm trying to find the coordinates of the HQ, but it's too difficult to locate on the computer. You all are going to have to fly there and search for it yourselves." "That's fine..." Ryoko assured her. She was leaning against a prototype air-vehicle, now wearing her employee jacket over her tank. The hunk of metal had been her project in the previous week, but was put on hold for now. Trunks stood next to her; Vegeta on his right, sitting on a stool. "Ok then. I'm not sure what you're all gonna run into, so be on guard...and be careful, ok?" She sounded as if she was giving her last pep talk to her soldiers before they headed out to war. "Where are you going?" Minagi was leaning in the doorway, watching them. They hadn't noticed she was there until she spoke up. "I hope you know that I'm coming too..." Ryoko exchanged looks with Trunks as Minagi began heading over to them. He gave Ryoko a look of, she's your daughter - it's up to you. "Minagi...I don't think that's the best idea. How about you stay here with your brother and little Trunks, ok?" "No way!! I'm going with you!" "..Minagi....." "No! I can't take it anymore! Don't you care how I feel? My father died, and then you killed yourself - all in the same week! I couldn't do anything to help...I was forced to just stand and watch. It isn't fair..." "Don't tell me that I don't understand how you feel!!" Ryoko snapped at her. "All my friends died too, don't you remember?! I..." She suddenly noticed that she was yelling at her daughter, who looked stunned from her sudden outburst. She sighed, and loosened her fists that were clenched from her anger. "I..I'm sorry...Minagi. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I just...hate seeing you get hurt. I'd feel a lot better knowing you were safe here, but that's a bit of a selfish and stupid request, isn't it?" she shrugged.  
  
Minagi was different from her mom in many ways - she was calmer and obedient. Ryoko tended to have mood swings, changing from happy to angry, and vice versa, very easily. But when Minagi was pushed over the line, her mother's traits began showing through, like her incredible stubbornness. She began to grit her teeth. "I want to go. I...can help you! I'm not a child! I can take care of myself." Ryoko felt badly, then decided to give in to her daughter's plea. "Alright. You can come." "Come where?" Ryan and Chibi Trunks were now standing in the doorway. "Oh no...not you two..." Bulma began to mutter. "C'mon Ryan! You and Trunks are gonna come and help us!" Minagi happily told him. "Wait...now. That's not what I said..." Ryoko started to explain. "Hey! We're coming too!" Trunks said. "Yeah! If Minagi gets to go, we do too!" Ryan chimed in. "Uhhh.....but, I..uhh..." Ryoko began to stutter, as the three looked up at her hopefully. "What do you say, Ryoko?" Bulma asked her, smiling. They continued to stare at her with large, puppy dog eyes. "Sigh. Ok, ok. You all can come. Just don't come crying to me when something happens to you..." She was kidding, of course. "Yay!!" they all yelled together. "Now..., where are we going exactly?" Chibi Trunks asked.  
  
"You ready, Ryoko?" Trunks asked her, grinning. "Ready as I'll ever be!" she answered back, tightening her gloves. She was smiling, but it was obvious that she was hiding something. "Umm... is there something you'd like to tell me?" he asked. He hit the nail on the head, so to speak. Visions from her dream began playing like a video through her head. They were eating away at her confidence; she was beginning to feel sick again. Ryoko tried her hardest to block them out, and felt that it would be for the best if she didn't tell Trunks about it. She continued with her charade, "No..I'm..i'm fine." "Ok, if you're sure." He could tell that she was lying, but figured it would be better to leave well enough alone for now. Ryoko's not one to open up with her feelings, and bugging her about it would just get her mad. That was her typical reaction, anyway. "Good luck, you all!" Bulma stood waving to the 6 warriors as they began their journey to the Red Ribbon Army Headquarters in the southern forest.  
  
Next: Chapter 5 - "Into The Belly Of The Beast" 


	5. Into the Belly of the Beast

Chapter 5 - "Into The Belly Of The Beast"  
  
"Check mate!" "What?!" Ryan was grinning - "I Win!!" "How?!" Little Trunks asked him with disbelief. "I got your king, so I win." "I don't get this game..." The two were playing chess in the docking room of Ryoko's ship. Minagi was grinning as she watched them play. "Wanna try again?" "Nah...I'll just lose. You always win. You're such a dork, Ryan." "Hey!" Ryoko sat uneasily in the cockpit. Trunks and Vegeta were waiting in the main hall. "What's wrong with me?" she asked herself. Sweat was beading up on her forehead. "Why do I feel so weak? Maybe I'm just having a hard time focusing because I didn't get enough sleep." She knew that was just an excuse. The two men suddenly walked in, and stood behind her. "We almost there?" Trunks asked. "Yeah. Shouldn't be long now." "It would've been easier just flying here ourselves," Vegeta tried to explain to her. "Maybe, but it would take a lot longer to find the place ourselves. I got radar on this thing. Should only take a minute to locate the base. Besides, why waste energy when we don't have to?" She looked back at him and smiled. "Why don't you just sit back and relax for once?"  
  
Minagi entered just as the two had walked back out of the cockpit area. She stood behind her mother and rested her arm on her seat. "You doing ok?" "Why does everyone keep asking me that?!" "Sorry! Just wondering. You don't look that good, that's all." Just like how Ryoko was connected with Washu and Ryo-ohki, Minagi was connected with Ryoko. She knew something was wrong as she stood and stared at her. "Hey! Are you gonna stare at me, or are you gonna help me?" "Oh! Alright! What do want me to do?" "You know that drawer to your left?" "This one?" "Yeah. Open it up, and hand me an aspirin. Deliveries and androids and psychotic military leaders...I'm getting too old for all of this..." Minagi giggled as she handed her the pill. "Oh, hey! There it is!" The two boys quickly ran in, followed by their fathers. Ryoko now had the images from radar up, and began plotting the entrances. "We'll land here. We're about 200 yards from the Headquarters main entrance. Instead of going directly to the front, we'll approach the base at an angle, and enter from the side. There are probably cameras and androids scouting the area." Ryoko found a place to bring the massive ship down, and they all jumped out as soon as the ship landed. As soon as everyone was out, she walked over to the back, opened a hidden flap, and pressed a button. Poof! In a second, the huge ship was enclosed in a tiny capsule, and she stuck it in her pocket. "Ok then! Let's go!!" The six warriors took flight, weaving in and out of the trees in the thick forest. They reached the side entrance Ryoko told them about, and as expected, it was guarded.  
  
That wasn't much of a problem though; the two androids proved to be pathetic excuses for competent guards as they were easily destroyed by the intruders. They now stood inside the Red Ribbon Headquarters. "Now what?" Trunks looked to his wife. "Hmm... well, I'm not sure exactly where to go." "Great." "No problem! We'll just split up. Minagi! You take Ryan and Trunks with you." "Aye aye!" "You three will head upstairs. Vegeta, you take the right hall, and Trunks, you take the left. "Fine." "And I'll take the main hall." They all gave each other their final looks, and then quickly headed down their assigned locations. "It looks like we have some company." Will stood in the main control center, and was watching them all on numerous monitors. He was talking to a surprisingly, smaller android. It looked similar to that of the one Ryoko destroyed a few days ago. "Well, I guess I'm off to meet our guests."  
  
"I wish...[pant]..I knew...[pant]..where we...[pant]..were going!" Minagi yelled in between breaths as she and the boys ran down the long hall. "Don't you have any experience raiding places like this?" Trunks asked her. "I mean, you're a space pirate, aren't you?" "Yeah... I was. Let me think..[pant] ...well, Ryoko sent us upstairs. That's usually where the main controls and security sectors are located." She suddenly skidded to a stop, with the two boys almost running into her. "Why'du stop?!" Ryan asked. "Dead end," she replied.  
  
Ryoko continued sprinting down what seemed to be an endless hallway. "I hope everyone's having better luck than I am!" she thought to herself. Her legs suddenly cramped up, sending her forward. She would've landed on her face if she hadn't put her arms out in front of her as she hit the ground. "Ungh!! pant... ouch..." She tried pushing herself back up to her feet, but couldn't. "Wha..what's wrong......I..I can't.." Ryoko's body gave out as she collapsed, falling completely to the floor. Everything turned black and she slipped into unconsciousness.  
  
Water dripped from a broken pipe on the ceiling. The dripping sound wasn't loud, but tedious enough to wake Ryoko up, who was now in chains, tied up against the wall. "Wh-where...am I?" She felt like she was drugged. "Ugh...," she moaned. Her body was so weak, it took a lot of effort just to breathe. She began to look around the room when her vision was finally clear. The room was small and musty; the only opening being a door, which was closed. "I have to get out of here..." She tried to pull her arms from the wall; a would-be simple feat for a Saiyan with her strength was now utterly impossible. "I wouldn't waste the little energy you have left." Will said to her, as he opened the door and walked inside. Her attention was quickly turned to him. "Let me go," Ryoko said sternly. He smiled at her. "Nah...I think I'm going to keep you there for a while. How do you feel?" "How do you think I feel, Jerk?! I'm tied up!!" "That's not what I mean. How do you feel? Tired? I know that normally it would be no problem for you to get out of those chains..." She was confused. "...What do you mean?" "Didn't sleep well last night, did you? I'm guessing you didn't eat anything this morning either." He was grinning at her. She was beginning to get freaked out. "Did you have a bad dream, too? I wasn't too shocked to find you lying on my floor.... pretty glad actually. You saved me the trouble of having to knock you out myself." "What are you talking about?!! ....How..do you know that?!"  
  
"Well, I guess it's only fair that I tell you. You see, I've always been fascinated with robots. They're much more advanced than humans in the sense that, they don't have any faults. The only faults they receive are those of their creators, humans. They don't need to sleep, eat, or have any other mortal need or desire. There is something else that's interesting with robots. They can't get sick. You are quite powerful, that's obvious. But as your friend Goku had demonstrated, even Saiyans can die from common diseases. Not saying the one you're suffering from is very common though..." Ryoko's eyes opened wide when she heard him say that. "That's right. You know that gun I shot you with at the club? I loaded it with bullets that's tips carried the disease. I shot you in the forehead with one of them." She was in shock. "The disease is called Hemohalluciphoria. I created it. You want to know what it does? I'm sure you've partly guessed already. It's a radical virus that goes directly into your main system, affecting mainly your blood flow. It acts as a censor, telling your blood cells to discontinue reproduction. They stop dividing, and slowly, your blood count starts to drop as they get old and begin to die off. That's why you feel so weak. You're body lacks nourishment because it's no longer asking for it. There's also a hallucinogen in it, which attacks your nervous system. If you don't die first from going mad, then you'll eventually die from lack of blood. So, yes, it's definitely fatal."  
  
Ryoko was speechless. All she could do is hang there and stare at him with her mouth dropped open. "What's the matter? You should feel honored - you're the first person to host my virus." She closed her eyes and hung her head, gritting her teeth. "Yeah....honored." She was beginning to accept her fate. There wasn't anything she could do anyway, the virus had already taken its effect. "Now I understand why I was feeling so awful," Ryoko thought to herself. "Who would've guessed...."  
  
"Alright. So, I'm going to die. Let's end the suspense - what are you planning?" she asked him. "Ahh.. I'm glad you asked. My great uncle was such a fool - he depended on other humans for the success of his company. And then he went on that scavenger hunt for those Dragon Balls... but there's an easier and more straight-forward way to world domination..." "World domination? Please! That's so overdone! Let me guess... you plan on infecting the entire human race with this virus, and then rebuild it with androids that do your bidding, am I right?" "Wow, you really are a lot smarter than you look!" "That's the stupidest....Ugh!" He elbowed her in the gut. "Hmm. I had a feeling you wouldn't agree. That's fine. It doesn't matter. You will die, and so will your precious family." She was hunched over and choking for air, but was still able to look up and glare at him. "...Well, at least... answer this...question. Why..did you send...that android to take... the capsules I was delivering?" "Heh. Didn't you know? If it weren't for that Dr. Briefs, the Red Ribbon would be the number one company for providing vehicles and other equipment. When Capsule Corporation took over, our sales dived. But, I've seen what you've done since you've worked there, and I must say, I'm impressed. If you weren't so dangerous to have around, I probably would've had you work for me instead of killed. But you do make an excellent test dummy," he laughed. Ryoko growled at him.  
  
"So that's it? You just plan on decimating the entire human race?" "Afraid so! Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I better go check on the other intruders before they do something stupid. I'll be seeing you in a while... If you're still alive by then." He started heading towards the door. "Oh, I almost forgot to mention. This disease of mine... it's very contagious," he said while popping a pill in his mouth as he locked the door behind him. Ryoko was furious. As soon as he left, she began yanking at her chains. She got tired quickly though, and it didn't do any good. "What the hell am I gonna do?!" She was sobbing now. "Even if I use the little energy I have left to get out of these chains, my effort will just be in vain. I won't have any energy left to do anything else. I'll just be stuck in here to die... I feel so helpless. DAMMIT!!!"  
  
"Minagi, we've been standing here forever. Let's just head back..." Ryan was tugging at his sister's sleeve. "Wait! This wall is hollow," she said banging on it. "..There must be a way inside..." "HAAA!!!" Trunks shot an energy blast at the wall, breaking it open. "I found a way," he said, grinning. They began slowly walking into the dark room. Different colored lights were flashing on the left. "...I was right! This is it! This is the control room!" Minagi said, excited. "Wow! Look at all the buttons!!" The two boys ran over to the computer panel. "...Hey now..don't touch anything!! Huh? What's that?" She heard what sounded like running water. "Huh. That's odd. Hey, you two! Stay here! I'll be back...!" "Ok." both boys answered back, not paying attention to her. Minagi started down a long dark corridor, which became lighter the further she went. "Ahhh! I knew it!!" When she came to the end, she saw what seemed to be a small submarine docking bay, but there were no ships. Nobody was there. A steel ladder led down into the water. "...I wonder where it leads. I guess I'll just have to go and find out!" She stood at the edge of the water, and dove down some 50 ft, ignoring the ladder. The water was cold as it came in contact with her skin. She swam deep down, saw a long tunnel leading out, and started swimming through it.  
  
The paths Trunks and Vegeta took seemed to be even longer than the others, but reconnected at the end. The two almost ran into each other when the paths rejoined. "Huh! That's weird. You find anything?" Trunks asked Vegeta. "No. It was just a long stupid hall." "Same here. Let's continue on ahead." They now began walking down the one wide pathway. When they came to the end, the room was completely opened up. "It's...huge! Like an oversized warehouse!" Trunks stood in amazement. They suddenly heard someone coming from the side, and hid. It was Will Red, and the same android he was with before. When they got a good look around, they finally realized where they were. It was the main development room. Hundreds of androids were now being molded and pieced together by other machines. Will had now come to check on the progress. He looked satisfied. "It's... an army," Vegeta stammered. "Yeah. I wonder what he's planning to do with them all?" "What do you think?! Take over the world, what else?"  
  
The tunnel was finally ending, just as Minagi had run out of air. She surfaced, breathing hard, and begun looking around once she caught her breath. She was in another room that looked similar to the one she had just came from. There was only one door on the other side of the room, and it was locked. "Hiyaa!!" she yelled, kicking the door open. Bright sunlight quickly filled the room. She begun to walk out the door, until she found out there wasn't much further for her to go as she almost fell off the edge. "Wow!! It's...huge!!!" She was standing on a small platform, set high above a huge dam. The surging river was pouring into the wall, running large turbines. Past the wall, water flowed out into a smaller river that continued for miles throughout the forest. "It's a hydro-electric plant! He has all this energy to himself? It's enough to fuel the entire city! This is crazy!!" Minagi was in shock as she watched the gushing water. "Wow. Well, I guess there's nothing I can do here..." She started to turn back, then noticed another platform far across the river; and a door. "What does that lead to?" she wondered. "Might as well find out!" She leapt off the edge, falling quickly toward the water's edge, purposely missing by an inch as she pulled up, and landed on the other platform. "That was fun..," she laughed to herself. She grabbed the doorknob, expecting it to be locked, but it wasn't, and she swung the door open.  
  
"This reminds me of Minagi's intergalactic war video game at home!" Ryan was saying, as he continued pushing buttons in the control room. "Speaking of Minagi, where did your sister go?" Trunks asked him. "Huh?" He looked back, and she wasn't there. "..I dunno. Did she say she was going somewhere?" "I think so...not sure. Oh well. Let me try now!"  
  
Will was gone, and Vegeta and Trunks began looking around. "How strong do you think they are?" Trunks wondered. "Not that strong, I'll bet." Vegeta answered. He was examining an arm he took off the assembly line. When he was done getting a good look at it, he crushed it. "Let's destroy these things now, before we get a chance to find out." "Right. Good idea!"  
  
Ryoko was feeling awful, and the continual dripping from the pipe wasn't making it any better. Suddenly the door began opening again. Will was walking back in again; she didn't even try to turn her head to see. He walked up to her, and rested two fingers on the side of her neck to check her pulse. He felt a very slow thump from her heartbeat. Her arms and legs hung from their chains; she wouldn't be up if they weren't holding her. "Poor thing. I almost feel bad for you. I know how strong you are, but I'm still quite surprised that you're still alive." He stared at her. She didn't move in the slightest. "Stubborn girl. Give up already. You wouldn't be in so much pain if you'd just give up and die." He sighed with his frustration, then backed up, and leaned against the opposing wall. "You're a fool. Well, at least I finally finished you. Now you can join all your other little friends up in the other world that I killed a long time ago." That caught Ryoko's attention. Her heart begun beating faster now, and she pulled her head up to glare at him. "What did you say?" "Hmm? Oh, you were listening?" "You...you.. you killed them?!!" "Oh, you mean that boy Tenchi and all of your other little friends? What were their names again? Oh yeah... the princesses, Ayeka and Sasami... your mother, Washu, oh and those two police officers, Mihoshi and Kiyone. I remember now, yes that's right...." Ryoko was enraged. She clenched her teeth and fists. "..grrrr...YOU! You KILLED THEM!!! I...I'll never forgive you!!! I HATE YOU!!!" He stood, staring at her calmly. "Well, I guess you could say I was responsible. That was when I sent a prototype of mine to some random planet to test its power. Ironic that you were there at the time..." "...Shut up..." "..You all were so weak, I'm surprised you didn't die too. It took you 3 years just to get strong enough to beat it." "...I said..SHUT UP!!!" She was now pushed over the line, and started to transform. Her power was coming from the pure rage that was building up inside of her. "HAAA!!!!" Her hair stood up for a second, but quickly changed back, as she collapsed, completely exhausted. "I told you not to waste your energy," he said, laughing at her. Ryoko was so pissed off, but she couldn't do anything. She had just used up the last of her energy, and tears begun streaming down her face. "...I can't...believe it.." she said, mumbling. "Well, it's been fun, but I think I'm gonna get going. I don't really want to be around when my serum finishes you off....that won't be a pretty sight. Besides, I have other business to attend to. World domination and all that; you understand." Ryoko hung from her chains, crying in misery. "Oh, and don't forget to say 'hi' to your friends for me, ok?" He mentioned, while he walked out the door. He didn't close it.  
  
Minagi could hear her own footsteps echo through the long, dank hallway. Pipes lined the walls and ceiling. "I wonder where I am now," she thought to herself. She turned a corner, and saw Will Red walking out of a room just ahead. She quickly covered her mouth with her hands, and backed up back behind the corner hoping he didn't hear her. He suddenly stopped and looked back. Nobody was there, so he continued walking forward. Minagi waited until he was out of sight, then turned back around the corner. "That was close. I wonder what he was doing?" She approached the open door, and turned to look inside. "MOM!!!" She quickly ran to her mother's side. "..Mom? Are..are you ok?!" She wasn't sure if she was still alive. She pulled off the metal shackles, releasing Ryoko who started to fall as soon as she was free. Minagi caught her, and held her close. "She's still alive...thank god. What happened to her?!" She set Ryoko down, and leaned her against the wall. Minagi tried to gently wake her mother up, but it wasn't working. "Come on...please. Wake up mom..." Her eyes began to water. Ryoko suddenly came to, and slowly opened her eyes to see her daughter's teary face. "....Mi..nagi..?" "Yeah... you're free now. I'm...I'm gonna get you out of here..."  
  
Next: Chapter 6 - "Retaliation" 


	6. Retaliation

Chapter 6 - "Retaliation"  
  
Minagi was now quickly tending to Ryoko's wounds. Her wrists were cut from the chains digging into them. Keeping busy seemed to help keep her from crying. Ryoko stared blankly at her daughter. "What am I going to do? I don't know what happened to her!" Minagi thought as she tried to keep from panicking. When she finished bandaging Ryoko's wrists, she tried to see if she could get any info out of her mother. "How did this happen to you?" She could only gets bits and pieces of answers through Ryoko's mumbling. "Will Red...injected me with.. some kind of.. disease he made. I don't have any...energy..left. I'm...running out of blood..." Minagi started to freak out. "What?!! What are you talking about?! I don't understand!!" Talking seemed to be draining all of the energy out of Ryoko, and that was all Minagi could get out of her. "Well, anywhere's better than here... let's go." She picked Ryoko up and carried her on her back, her arms hanging over her shoulders. She looked down the hall to see if anyone was coming, then ran. It seemed to be yet another endless hallway. "... We're getting nowhere at this rate.... what was it that she said? Disease..?!" Ryoko's weight shifted as Minagi ran. "...Live..please. I know you can make it... you've bounced back from worse than this before." She began to slow, then came to a stop, tears still streaming down her face. "What am I going to do?!!" She gently laid Ryoko down on the ground. Her eyes were closed. "Mom!! Are you still there?!!" She shook her a bit to wake her up, and her eyes started to open again. "Please!! You have to tell me... what do you want me to do?!!" Ryoko didn't answer. Minagi began to panic. "Stop it!! Calm down and think!!! ... OH!! I got it!!!"  
  
She knelt down and rested her hand on Ryoko's stomach. Her body started to glow as her energy was being sent into her mother's narcotized body. As if she had been underwater for a long time, Ryoko woke to a start, gasping for air. Minagi sighed in relief. "Minagi!!" Ryoko was wide awake now, as she sat up and looked dumbstruck. "Good... I'm..really glad..to see you awake..!!" She seemed to be out of breath; she had just given up a lot of her energy. ................ "I'm so stupid," Ryoko sulked. "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have been so foolhardy..." "Wait..what are you talking about? What happened?!" "Will Red... injected me with some kind of stupid fatal disease he made.... "What?!!" "... at the club. If I hadn't been so arrogant and edged him on like that, then he might not've shot me..." "I still don't understand what you're talking about!! Why?!" "He plans on wiping out all of humanity with his virus, and I'm the test run! He's building an army of androids to take over." "...No way!" "Yeah. Thanks for the energy by the way, but it's not going to last long..." "Well, what are we going to do? Isn't there some kind of antidote?" Ryoko tried to think back to what he had said to her, when a sudden thought came to mind. "Minagi! He..he said the disease is contagious!!" "What?!" she yelled in shock, then grit her teeth. "...That's.....that's ok. It's too late now. Listen! Did he say anything about an antidote?" "N..nno... He took a pill though. That's probably..an antidote," she mumbled. "...You shouldn't have helped me... Now you're going to get sick too. Dammit! And you gave me all that energy too!!" Minagi began to get frustrated. "Well, what was I supposed to do?! Leave you hanging there to die?!! No... I would never. You needed that energy a lot more than I did. ....Always help others before you help yourself." "...Minagi.." Ryoko looked over at her daughter and smiled. "..You're such a good girl. I am so proud of you." She returned Ryoko's smile. "He's going to pay for doing this to us. Let's just hope he has more pills. We better get going before you run out of energy again, and that disease starts affecting me! Let's go!!" "Wait a second, Minagi!" "What now?" ".... Will is responsible for the deaths of Tenchi and everyone else 16 years ago." "Are... you serious?!!!" "Yeah. He said so himself...," Ryoko said sternly. "He's just made this war a hell of a lot more personal."  
  
Trunks and Vegeta now stood in a mess of broken machinery and android parts. "That about does it," Vegeta said sounding self-satisfied. "What's wrong?" he asked Trunks, who was stopped dead in his tracks. "I... just got this really weird feeling. I don't think we should stay here any longer. We should go and find the others. They may be in danger...." "Hmm... you worry too much. But fine, if you want to go, let's go then. Nothing else to do here anyway..." "What the hell have you done?!!" Will now stood behind them, and he looked very angry. "Oh, you mean this?" Trunks laughed. "Sorry! I guess we messed the place up a bit..." "Imbeciles!! You will suffer for this!" He quickly called upon a few of his android servants, and sent them upon the two Saiyans. Delighted with this new opportunity to fight, they quickly transformed, and flew off to meet the oncoming androids head on. .................... "Idiots!!" Will had left the room, and was now storming down an empty corridor. "Ah, well. It matters not. They are about to learn not to take me lightly. And once those two are destroyed, it will only be a matter of time before I can infect the rest with my new disease. Then I can begin the creation of an even more advanced android militia!" Reciting his plans seemed to be cheering him up a lot. "Oh, I should go and check on that test dummy of mine. That girl had better be good and dead by now."  
  
"I'm getting bored," Ryan sighed. "Yeah, me too. Let's get out of here!" Trunks exclaimed. "Wait! We can't...Minagi told us to stay here." "Oh, so now you're listening to her? She also said she'd be back soon, but it's been a long time." "You're right. Maybe something happened to her?" "Well, see? That's why we should go and find out!" "But this place is huge... she could be anywhere. Oh! I got an idea!" "What now?" Trunks asked Ryan, who started typing keys again. "This is a control room! See all the monitors? I'll bet there's cameras wired throughout this entire place! We can use them to look for her without even leaving this room!" "Not bad, Einstein." Trunks laughed. They scanned through multiple images, most of them being empty rooms. Finally, one caught their eyes, but it wasn't Minagi on screen. "That's....!!" They now had a clear view of Vegeta and Trunks, who were fighting against four androids. "Go dad!!" They both shouted, simultaneously. "This sucks!! I'm already getting tired!" Ryoko grumbled as she and Minagi ran down the hallway. "He could've had a nice, organized, easy to navigate through base, but oh no, it has to be humongous with extra long hallways. Stupid son of a... hey!" She skidded to a halt. They finally reached the end of the hall. "An elevator!! Finally..." Minagi pressed the only button there was, with an arrow facing 'up'. Nothing happened. "Figures," Ryoko growled. "No problem. I'll just do a little recircuitry..." She pulled off the keypad, exposing the inside wires. She started pulling wires, reattaching some, and breaking others, until finally, the elevator opened. They both walked inside. It was a little rundown; the lights flickered on and off and the walls were stripped to the bare metal. "Where do you think it goes?" Minagi asked her mother, who was now resting against the wall and catching her breath. "Well, with our luck, probably nowhere good." She laughed, even though it hurt.  
  
"You... know what?" Trunks yelled over to his father as he quickly ducked from a punch. "What?!" Vegeta yelled back, uppercutting one of the other androids, then kicking the next one that came at him in the face. "These androids... are a lot stronger... than I had thought!!" Trunks yelled back as he swung one into the ground. One was down for good, but the other three kept getting up for more. "Hah! The stronger the better! I thought we weren't gonna get any competition out of them!!" The two Super Saiyans now stood back-to-back, and were both charging up for an energy attack. "HAAA!!!!" They shouted out simultaneously as two massive beams shot out in opposite directions.  
  
"Argh!!! Stupid girl!!" Will stood in anger in Ryoko's now empty cell. "How did she escape?! I'll bet she got help from one of the others. Well, it doesn't matter. She'll still die. In fact, this just makes it even better! She'll spread the disease on to all of her friends!" He grinned as he started walking back out of the room. "And I'll bet I know where she went, too..."  
  
The elevator slowed, then shook as it came to a stop. The doors opened to reveal a surprisingly smaller room. The two walked out, and looked around in amazement. "Things went our way for once! This looks like the laboratory." Minagi said as she walked further into the room. She was right; there were computers, and tables holding vials of different chemicals. "Let's look for those pills!" Ryoko exclaimed. They frantically searched through everything, but there was no sign of any kind of antidote. "Damn... he must still be carrying those pills on him. They must be the only ones...." Ryoko sighed, as she held herself up by leaning on a table. "Hey, wait! Wouldn't the formula be in here though? We can probably look it up on one of the computers!" "Hey, you're right!" Ryoko rushed over to what looked to be the main computer unit, and booted it up. "...C'mon.." She was getting impatient as she quickly scanned through all the files. "....Oh no.." She stopped typing. "What's wrong?!" Minagi asked. ".I...can't move my arms.... I think the blood flow was restricted from them. They're numb." "What?! Not now! Oh god... I'll finish this then!" Minagi helped her to the floor. Ryoko sat leaning against the table calmly as she began to regulate her breathing to keep her remaining energy in check. Minagi sat at the computer, and continued searching. "....... There it is! Hemo..halluci...... whatever. Right?" Ryoko nodded. "Ok, good." She looked over the necessary chemicals in the formula, then looked down at Ryoko. "See? Now aren't you glad you let me come?" Ryoko tried to laugh. "...I think... I'll be able to mix up an antidote from what he has in here. It'll be in liquid form though.." She quickly got to work as Ryoko sat calmly and watched from the floor. She was mixing chemicals, and almost spilled them when a jolt of pain suddenly rushed through her body. "..Aaahhhh!..ngh... No... [pant] not now!!" The disease was now starting to affect Minagi, but she kept at her task.  
  
After 20 long minutes, Minagi finally completed the antidote serum. "Well, it's done. I followed the computer exactly, but there's no guarantee it's gonna work. Let's just hope it does." She grabbed a needle, and filled it with the serum. "Oh damn.." Ryoko half laughed. "I hate shots." "That's ok. You won't be getting one."  
  
Will Red now stood in front of the elevator, and was facing the two girls who were sitting on the ground. "You sure have a knack for coming at the worst time!" Ryoko growled. The two were in a really bad position; Ryoko seemed like she'd be unable to hold him off in her state, and Minagi was weak as well. "It's too bad. You got so close..." Will began heading toward the shocked warriors. "Let's get out of here!!!" Minagi grabbed the needle filled with the antidote and Ryoko, and ran. She made it to the end of the room, with nowhere left to go. "...Oh no." Suddenly, the floor opened up from underneath her, and she fell through. "It's Minagi and Ryoko!!!" Trunks yelled as the two hit the floor. Vegeta's energy attack had hit the ceiling, which was their floor, weakening it. When Minagi ran across it, it fell through from her weight. Will was still up in the lab, and he purposely knocked over the vial of the serum Minagi had made, wasting the rest of the antidote. Trunks and Vegeta ran over to them. "Ryoko! Minagi! Are you two ok? What happened?!!" Trunks asked as he picked up Ryoko. She was unconscious. Minagi was hurt from hitting the ground; she moaned as she rubbed her head and grit her teeth. His question seemed to be too difficult to answer at the moment. Vegeta pulled Minagi to her feet, and she pulled out the needle, handing it to Trunks. "Here.... give this to Ryoko." "What..?" "I'll explain later... just do it!" "Ok!!" Will jumped down through the crack in the floor, and landed easily on his feet. He stood staring at the four shocked warriors. "Quickly!!!" Minagi yelled. "Oh..! Right!! Vegeta, keep him entertained!" "No problem... heh." Trunks pulled Minagi to the side, and sat Ryoko down next to her. "So, I just inject this into her?" "..Right," Minagi sighed. She was sweating; the virus was beginning to take its toll and her energy was running low. Trunks knelt down next to the unconscious Ryoko, lifted her arm, and slowly began injecting the yellow-green liquid until there was no more. "There.... it's done." He gently rested her arm down. "Is she going to be alright?" "...Let's hope so," Minagi gasped. "I'll stay down here with Ryoko. You have to go fight him with Vegeta...!!"  
  
"I see you were able to beat my strongest androids." Will stood facing Vegeta; the smoldering parts of the three last androids lay behind him. Vegeta grinned and folded his arms. "It was cake." "Well, I guess if you want something done right...." Will threw down his coat. Both his arms and legs were robotic; he now looked a lot stronger. "...then do it yourself!!!" He leapt at Vegeta; the two began a high-speed fistfight. Trunks quickly flew in as back up.  
  
"Wow!! This is awesome! Look at 'em go!!" Ryan and Chibi Trunks were still in the control room, watching the fight. Minagi was breathing hard as she leaned against the wall. She looked over at Ryoko. Her face was pale. "...[pant]..come..on. Don't tell me my antidote's not gonna work..! [pant] She can't die..." Minagi started to cry. "..not after all of this." She looked up to the heavens and held her hand over her heart. "..Master Yakage... I know you're watching over me. I've tried my hardest..." She bowed her head and closed her eyes. Ryoko's hand twitched. "...Huh..?" Minagi began to open her eyes and look over at her mother as she wiped the tears from her face. The color had returned to Ryoko's body, and she started to move. "...She's ..alive..?!" She slowly opened her eyes, and began rubbing them with her hand. "...Ugh..wh-what?" Ryoko looked over at Minagi, who was smiling. "I'm... I'm alive?!!" "Heh... yeah." Minagi leapt at Ryoko and hugged her; she buried her teary face in her mother's shirt. Ryoko held her tightly. "The antidote.. it worked!!" she exclaimed as she felt her strength returning. Then a sudden thought came to mind. "Wait!! You need it too!! Where's the rest..?!" "Will wasted it...," Minagi answered. "WHAT?!! But there was only enough left in that needle for one!!! If you don't... you're gonna... oh no." Ryoko began to panic. "No... I can't. I won't let you die." She stood up. "Think!!" Minagi collapsed against the wall. "THINK!!!" "OH!! I almost forgot!!"  
  
Will had been more than a challenge for the two Saiyans, and was easily holding his own. Vegeta quickly swung at him, and he dodged, but the double- team was working his agility. Caught off guard, the Commander was kicked in the back by Trunks, and flew across the room. He was suddenly rammed out of the air by Ryoko. As soon as they landed, she got up, and punched him, leaving an indention from her knuckles in his face. Before he could even gasp for air, she kicked him in the ribs, then knocked him to the ground. With his back faced down, Ryoko sat on him and held his arms down with her feet so he couldn't move. "...You!!! You're still alive...?! How?!!" he squeaked. She looked down and grinned at him, then began to search his clothes until finally, she found what she was looking for. Ryoko pulled a clear-orange container out of his pants pocket, then stepped down on him as she pushed herself to her feet.  
  
"Ryoko!!!" Trunks shouted, surprised and happy to see his wife in good health. "Hi!!" she answered, turning to see him. She ran over to him, and jumped into his arms. "I'm so glad to see that you're ok..." he sighed as he held her tightly and ran his fingers through her hair. She leaned in closer to him as she stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him. Then she quickly pulled back, and held out the container. "Sorry...that's gonna have to wait. First thing's first." She tried to turn the top off, but it wouldn't open. "Uh.. Ryoko? That container's childproof. You have to push down while you open it." "!!...I knew that!!" She gave him a look of, 'make me look stupid, why don'cha?' But her look quickly turned to gratitude as she opened the container, and poured a couple pills into her hand. "Here. Take this." She handed one to Trunks. "You too!!" she shouted to Vegeta as she threw one to him. They both popped the pills in their mouths and swallowed as Ryoko walked up to her sick daughter and knelt down next to her. "Minagi? Can you hear me?! I'm gonna need you to take this.." She opened her mouth, and stuck the pill inside. "..Now swallow.....good girl." She held her head, and wiped her remaining tears. "...You're going to be ok now. You've done such a good job. Just hold on..."  
  
"I wonder what's happening...?" Ryan thought, his eyes glued on the screen. "Hey Ryan," Trunks asked, getting his attention. "Yeah?" "Well, I was wondering, didn't we all come here to destroy this place?" "Hey yeah, that's right!" "So, maybe there's something we can do from here..." He began looking over all the controls. "Hey! I'll bet this button self- destructs the whole place!" Ryan laughed. "Are you kidding?! Not even close!" He pointed to a big red button. "I happen to know for a fact that that particular button is this one!" He pushed it down, and a loud alarm instantly sounded. "...Oops." "Nice going, brainiac! Let's go before we get in trouble!!" "Good idea!!" The two quickly ran out of the room.  
  
"Huh..?!" The loud alarm caught the attention of the four Saiyans. Will began slowly pulling himself to his feet; his lip was bleeding and he had a black eye. "Self destruct activated! 5 minutes to detonation." "Oh, great...," Ryoko sighed as she stood up. "Five minutes?!" Trunks yelled. "That's barely enough time to get out of here!!" "Well then, let's get going!!" Vegeta yelled at the two. Ryoko looked down at Minagi, who was finally beginning to snap out of her drowsiness. "Trunks...." "Yeah Ryoko?" ".....I want you to carry Minagi and leave with Vegeta. Quickly find Ryan and Trunks, and get out of here." He stood and wondered why she hadn't mentioned herself. "... But Ryoko... you.." She turned to look at him, and smiled. "I'll be fine. My place is here now. I have to finish what I started." She then looked over at Will, who was glaring at her. "...This is personal." He could tell she was serious about this, and somehow, he understood. "..Alright...Ryoko." He ran over to Minagi, picked her up, and then shouted to Vegeta, "Let's go now!!" They quickly headed toward the exit. Trunks turned as they left, to look back at Ryoko one last time. "Don't die, Ryoko!!! I love you!!" Trunks shouted back to her. She grinned. "I love you too, Trunks!!" She shouted back as he ran out of sight.  
  
Ryoko now stood facing Will Red once again. "So, I guess it's just the two of us alone again," he said to her. She glared at him. "I guess so." Trunks and Vegeta were sprinting down the main hallway, and they almost ran into Ryan and Chibi Trunks, who came running from the left passage. "There you two are!!" Trunks exclaimed. "Hurry, let's go!!" "Wait, where's my mom?" Ryan asked him. "...She's.. coming. We have to go now! Don't worry, she'll be fine." He grabbed his son's arm, Vegeta grabbed little Trunks', and they all took flight, racing through the long hall. "4 Minutes until detonation," the computer alarm warned. Ryoko felt a sick happiness come over her. She can finally take revenge on the one who so rightly deserved it. She had been screwed over for the last time; first Will tried to steal from her, then he injected her with a fatal disease just to test it, and then she found out that he was responsible for the deaths of those she had cared about the most. It was too much to take. But now, her energy was back, and it swelled inside of her until it erupted with a brilliant flash of light. The golden aura surrounded her body, which was now filled with a dangerous power as she stood firm in her Super Saiyan form. She looked evil as she glared at him; her green eyes clung to his every movement. "3 Minutes until detonation." Ryoko looked as if she was stuck in that position, so Will decided to make the first move. He ran up to hit her, which was a stupid move. He was stopped almost effortlessly by Ryoko's fist, which was in his gut. "..Aaaugh..!!" She moved faster than he could see. "Die..." Her fist opened, and a powerful ki blast shot right through him, creating a large hole in his middle. He gasped, and fell to the floor. "2 Minutes until detonation." She continued to glare down hatefully at him until her anger came to a boil. "Idiot!!! I hate you!!" She begun pounding his immobilized body, and then grabbed him by the neck. "I'm going to enjoy killing you," she growled. "I ought to rip your heart out." He looked up at her in fear. She stared down at him, but her evil glare slowly began changing to that of contempt as she suddenly noticed how afraid he looked. She let go of his neck, and slowly backed up. "...What the hell am I doing?! I've turned into a monster!" she said, in self- disgust. "I can't lower myself to his level. But still.... he deserves it. After all that he's done to me... to my family!! What else can I do?!!" He was dying as he lay on the ground. "This is so out of character!! Since when did I, the most wanted space pirate in the universe, become righteous?!" She was fighting a battle within herself. "Alright. Heh... I guess hanging around all those do-goods has turned me soft. That's alright." She sighed, and smiled. "1 Minute until detonation!" "I might as well put you out of your misery," she said staring down at Will. The whole building was crumbling around her; large chunks of metal and cement fell from the ceiling and walls.  
  
Trunks who was carrying Minagi, as well as Ryan, Vegeta, and Chibi Trunks all flew out of the building just in time. When they got at a far enough distance, they stopped, and stepped down on the ground. Minagi was just about back to normal, and Trunks set her down so she could stand. They all stood silently, staring at the base. Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and in a massive explosion of light, the Red Ribbon Headquarters had been destroyed.  
  
"Mom!!!" Ryan screamed out. "N-no...sh-she c-can't be...," Minagi began to stutter, choking back tears. The two took off, flying back to the demolished base. Chibi Trunks looked up at Vegeta, and then at Mirai Trunks, paused for a second, then quickly took off too, Trunks and Vegeta right behind him. When Ryan and Minagi reached the site, all that remained was smoldering rubble and ash. Minagi fell to her knees, and dug her hands into the mess. "..Oh mom...why didn't you just come with us?" Ryan frantically began digging through it. Trunks hung his head at the sight of their pain. Ryan gave up, and sat down, hiding his face in-between his knees. Some of the rubble next to him suddenly started to shift. "...Huh..?" He lifted his head up, and looked. It stopped moving, then all of a sudden a robotic arm shot out from the ashes, freaking him out. He got up, and started to back away, but another arm shot out of the rubble too. This one was human. "It's!! Is it..?!!" The rubble began quickly shifting again, and Ryoko's head suddenly emerged from the ashes, followed by the rest of her body. "Ugh.." She wiped the dirt out of her face as she panted, catching her breath. Her whole body was now free from the smoldering grave. She was grasping a robotic arm. "Much better!! Being buried alive is definitely not fun!! Huh..? Hey you guys!!" She looked over to her children, who were completely stunned as they stood staring at her. "...What's wrong?"  
  
"MOM!! You're alive!!!" Ryan ran over to her, jumping into her arms and knocking her over. "H-hey Kiddo!! Not so tight, huh? I hurt all over!" She laughed. He continued to squeeze her with all his strength. "...M- mom...I..I can't... believe it.." Minagi was still in shock. "Well, are you just going to stand there?!" Ryoko asked, laughing. Minagi's eyes widened, then she snapped out of it, and ran full speed at the two, wrapping her arms tightly around both Ryoko and Ryan. They were both so happy to see her, it didn't seem like they were ever going to let go. But they did, and Ryoko pulled herself to her feet. She rested her hands on both their heads, and smiled. "I am so proud of you two." She then looked over at her husband who stood, relieved to see her alive. "I'm sorry to scare you like that, Trunks." She walked up to him, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He looked at her and laughed. Her face was all cut up and dirty, but her smile made that easy to ignore. "...That's ok, as long as you're alright. It's all over now." He held her; her head rested on his shoulder as he ran his fingers through her hair. "...Shall we continue?" Ryoko asked, grinning as she looked up at him. He laughed at her question, then held her close and kissed her.  
  
"Yuck...," Chibi Trunks moaned as he turned from sight of the mushy scene. Minagi laughed at his disgust, then turned and smiled. "Looks like things are back to normal!" she exclaimed. "Yeah... looks like it," Vegeta sighed. "Hey Romeo and Juliet! We'd like to go home now!!" The two stopped, looked into each other's eyes, then looked over at him. "Yes, your majesty..." Ryoko said sarcastically. She let Trunks go, and he noticed that she was still holding a robotic arm. "What's that?" he asked her. "..Huh? Oh, this?!" she asked holding it up. "...That's the last of Will Red, commander of the Red Ribbon Army," Ryoko sighed, looking down at it. "...You know, he did a horrible thing to me. But now that I got him back, I don't feel as good about it as I thought I would. It's funny...." She seemed to be lost in her thoughts as she continued to stare down at the metal piece. "...Trunks?" She looked up at him, suddenly catching his attention. "...Yeah?" "He took so much from me, but you know what? He also gave me a lot. If that didn't happen, I wouldn't be here now. I wouldn't have you, I wouldn't have Minagi, or Ryan... I wouldn't know my past... heck, I don't think I would've had much of a future!" He looked down and thought about that. She was right. He smiled, and put his arm around her. "..Then I thank him for that." She looked down at the arm one last time, then threw it down into the rubble. "Rest in peace.... Commander Will Red."  
  
Next: Chapter 7 - "Aftermath and Celebration" 


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